![]() ![]() Later in the film, when crewman Chekov is in trouble, Spock insists that the crew save him, even at risk of jeopardizing the crew’s vital mission to save Earth and everyone on it. She replies, “Then you are here because of a mistake-your friends have given their future to save you.” (The crew had broken the law and had gone on the run in order to rescue Spock.) Spock says that humans are sometimes illogical his mother answers, “They are, indeed!” At the beginning of this film, Spock’s mother, who is human (his father is Vulcan), asks him whether he still believes that, by logic, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. We find an answer in the next film, The Voyage Home (1986). Kirk answers, “Because the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many.” This is, as Spock might say, a fascinating reversal of the message in the previous film. Once restored, Spock asks Kirk why the crew saved him. ![]() In the next film, The Search for Spock (1984), the crew of the Enterprise discovers that Spock is not actually dead, that his body and soul survive separately, and that it may be possible to rejoin them-which the crew proceeds to do. ” Kirk finishes for him, “The needs of the few.” Spock replies, “Or the one.” Spock quickly perishes, and, with his final breaths, says to Kirk, “Don't grieve, Admiral. With the Enterprise (ship) in imminent danger of destruction, Spock enters a highly radioactive chamber in order to fix the ship’s drive so the crew can escape danger. In The Wrath of Khan (1982), Spock says, “Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” Captain Kirk answers, “Or the one.” This sets up a pivotal scene near the end of the film (spoilers follow). Let’s first consider some instances and the relevant contexts. This claim is made in various scenes in the films, including in the latest one. The familiar wording appears in The Godfather by Mario Puzo (1969) and is quoted as if from an “old Klingon Proverb” in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and in the title sequence of the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill: Vol 1 (2003).With this week’s DVD release of Star Trek into Darkness, now is a good time to evaluate or reevaluate the oft-stated Star Trek claim, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” (or “the one”). Its path to modern popularity may begin with the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets which had revenge is a dish which people of taste prefer to eat cold. It has been wrongly credited to the novel Les liaisons dangereuses (1782). It has been in the English language since at least 1846, via a translation from the French novel Mathilde by Joseph Marie Eugène Sue: la vengeance se mange très-bien froide, there italicized as if quoting a proverbial saying, and translated revenge is very good eaten cold. The French diplomat Talleyrand (1754–1838) has been credited with the saying La vengeance est un mets que l’on doit manger froid. This sense is lost in recent presentations. ![]() In early literature it is used, usually, to persuade another to forestall vengeance long enough for wisdom to reassert itself. The popular expression “revenge is a dish best served cold” suggests that revenge is more satisfying as a considered response enacted when unexpected or long feared, inverting traditional civilized revulsion toward ‘cold-blooded’ violence. Bonus question: “Revenge is a dish best served cold” - does this predate Trek, or is it another original? ![]()
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